Blitzbokke lose influential Delport

The Springbok Sevens team suffered a setback on Tuesday ahead of the final tournament when veteran playmaker Paul Delport was ruled out due to a knee injury.

The Springbok Sevens team suffered a setback on Tuesday ahead of the final tournament when veteran playmaker Paul Delport was ruled out due to a knee injury.

He will be replaced by Bernado Botha, who last played for the team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament in December 2012. Botha has played in 15 tournaments since his debut in the Dubai Sevens in 2012, scoring 31 tries.

Delport was in brilliant form at the recent Glasgow Sevens, where South Africa won their third title of the current series, but picked up the injury on day two of the event. He was included in the Dream Team voted for by the TV commentators afterwards.

Two more BlitzBokke, Seabelo Senatla and Justin Geduld, have already returned to South Africa to join the Junior Springboks at their training camp in Stellenbosch. The duo will now prepare with the SA U20s for the Junior World Championship in France later this month.

Werner Kok, another product of the SARU Sevens Elite Player Development squad, will join the squad for the London leg of the Sevens World Series and make his debut at the tournament.

"Werner is a very hard worker, is quick and fast and will be able to cover at centre and hooker, so I am very happy to welcome him in the squad," Treu said of the Nelspruit-born and raised former Pumas Craven Week player.